


Something about these petals...

by APureMagicSheep



Category: Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions
Genre: Barry has ADHD, Bookstores, ClingyShipping, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dancing in the Rain, Dawn is a Good Friend, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Disaster Barry, Hanahaki Disease, M/M, Movie Night, Stargazing, Tags May Change, Uhm, Walks In The Park, how do i tag this mess, kinda sorta unrequited love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22702882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/APureMagicSheep/pseuds/APureMagicSheep
Summary: (...reminds me of you)The petals started about three months ago.Nobody has to find out. He can do this forever until Lucas falls in love with him, or one of them dies, which is not the better option, justanoption that makes his heart throb when he thinks about it. Lucas dying is definitely not an option, (though that probably won't happen until they're in their late nineties, if he has anything to say about it), which means he's gotta tell him how he feels, which will prooooobably not be for a good whileUntilDawndecided to stick her nose in his business.
Relationships: Jun | Barry | Pearl/Kouki | Lucas | Diamond
Comments: 24
Kudos: 107





	1. Petals and Problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: these games came out when i was four and i have played only pearl exactly once! I might buy platinum eventually, but only after I finish Pearl again, (i reset it for this fanfic lol). So if any of these characters are out of character then that's why.
> 
> Anyhoo, y'all came for Clingyshipping and i am here to deliver!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!! <3

The petals started about three months ago.

It’s not really a problem, just one or two tiny blue petals every couple days. Easy enough to hide, especially if he runs away fast enough before anyone can see.

It doesn’t even hurt! He gets a tickle in his throat as warning and then _blam_ he coughs up two petals, shoves them in his pocket, (if he's around anyone), or rips them up and lets them float away on the wind.

It’s simple.

Easy.

Nobody has to find out. He can do this forever until Lucas falls in love with him, or one of them dies, which is not the _better_ option, just _an_ option that makes his heart throb when he thinks about it. Lucas dying is _definitely_ not an option, (though that probably won't happen until they're in their late nineties, if he has anything to say about it), which means he's gotta tell him how he feels, which will prooooobably not be for a good while-

Until _Dawn_ decides to stick her nose in his business.

Key word being _his_ business. As in, _not hers._

They’re in the lab the day she finds out, sorting books and papers and pokemon research into pile after endless pile, which is long and tedious, but she actually asked him for help instead of ever-patient Lucas for once, so of course he jumped at the chance to help her out.

She actually said, "Lucas couldn't help today, he has to go be the champion before the league kicks him out. That's why I asked you,” when he asked.

He tries not to take it too personally.

Three hours in, his Infernape and her Empoleon are both out of their balls and helping, and he's just about ready to be done. Why did he agree to this again? He should be training. If anything, he should be trying to beat "The Great Champion Lucas" instead of filing paperwork.

He follows her into an office with a stack of paper that's far too big for his liking and waaaaay heavier than any form of paper should be.

"Here's good," She says to him, setting her stack down on the desk in the office. Then she points to the other side of said desk, "Put yours there, will you?"

"Yep!" He says cheerfully. Oh well. May as well make the best of it right? Think about how much time Dawn is saving by having him here!

Besides, he’ll just have to visit Lucas later. Probably with donuts, like a good best friend.

The thought of Lucas smiling makes his throat itch, and with wide eyes, he clambers to drop the stack onto the desk, scattering loose papers everywhere, and turns his head to cough into his elbow, far more roughly than any other time in the last three months. He can feel Dawn reaching over to pat his back, and when he lifts his head out of his sleeve, there are _seven_ petals, which is way more than the three he'd seen yesterday.

"Barry?" Dawn asks, and he quickly covers up the petals when she leans over his shoulder, "Are you alright? What are those?"

"Oh you know, just my intestines," He answers, trying to ignore his racing heart. Did she see? Oh Arceus above she better not-

"I don't recall there being any form of _blue_ intestine," she answers, using the same 'oh, isn't it obvious?' tone that Barry used, "Unless yours are just special?"

He swallows. Dawn is like Cynthia- neither will take crap from _anyone, especially_ Barry when they know he's trying to hide something.

But he tries anyway. First time for everything, right?

"Yep!" he turns to her, tucking both arms away and clasping both hands behind his back, "I'm a pretty special little snowflake, if I do say so myself."

She crosses her arms, pops her hip, and gives him a _look_. He swallows again, heart hammering in his ribs. He doesn’t really feel like dying today.

“Show me,” Dawn says after a moment, a sharp look in her blue-gray eyes. They’re so similar to Lucas’s, though his are round and sweet and cry over eggs once they’ve hatched and hers are deep and sharp, straight to the point, no funny business.

Barry swallows back more petals. He isn’t ready to give in.

“Show you what?”

“The _petals,_ you bidoof,” She demands. “Does Empoleon need to smack you?”

The penguin Pokémon leans into the office, and Barry’s Infernape leans in right after, giving him a look that says _‘I’ve got your back.’_ Which is incredibly sweet even though it’s at a type disadvantage.

Barry sighs as dramatically as he can, hoping it’ll somehow calm his racing heart, and offers the hand with the petals.

Dawn cups his hand in both of hers and pulls it closer so she can study the petals. As far as he's seen, they always come in shades of blue, anywhere from baby blue to indigo, and are always the darkest around the edges.

Barry holds his breath when she picks one up and straightens again to study it. The petals are barely bigger than one of the knuckles on her fingers.

”Uhm...” He says awkwardly, and she looks at him, “You do realize these came out of my _lungs,_ right?”

She shrugs and returns her attention to the petal, “I’ve touched worse. Stuff happens when you work with Pokémon.”

He gags, “Okay, _gross. Way_ too much info, Dawn.”

She only smiles and sets the petal back into his hand.

”Definitely real flower petals,” she concludes, “Have you eaten any bouquets lately?”

“As far as I’m aware of, no,” he answers, pushing the petals into his pocket. Out of sight, out of mind, right? “Though I _have_ been told that I do some strange stuff in my sleep."

She studies him silently for a long moment, and he fidgets.

Then she says, "Who is it?"

He winces. Honestly, he should have known she'd pick up on it in point three seconds, but he was really hoping for at least another month of hiding out.

Apparently he takes just a beat too long to answer, because now she's got a knowing look in her eye as she turns back to the desk, pulling a pad of orange sticky notes out of one of the drawers and grabbing a pencil out of a cup on the shelf above it.

"When are you going to tell him?"

Barry swallows.

"Him who?"

Dawn stops her scribbling to give him another look, _"Lucas,_ you obnoxious zubat."

"Ah."

It's probably safe to assume he's hidden exactly zero secrets from her in the last six years they've known each other.

She goes back to writing and he goes back to fidgeting. When he looks down, he finds one of the petals on the floor and bends to pick it up.

"What gave me away?" He asks absently, studying the gentle curve of the top of the petal, and the fade from purple around the edge to almost white in the middle.

"I think it was the fact that you've basically got _'I'm gay for Lucas'_ written on your forehead."

His face flushes.

"I do _not."_

She only hums an agreement that's absolutely dripping with sarcasm.

He watches her scribble for a bit, and then she looks up.

"Your ears are red."

"Are they?"

She rolls her eyes and passes him a sticky note. "Here. This is a list of things that might help when it gets worse.”

He huffs and snatches it from her- it's a list of things like cough medicine and tea. He blinks at it.

"How do you know all this?"

Dawn shrugs, "Someone I knew once had hanahaki disease as well. Said this stuff helped them, so I figured I'd pass on their knowledge to you."

"Oh," Is all he says. Then, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she answers, and without missing a beat holds out a hand, "Can I have that petal?"

"Why?" He asks, dropping it into her palm.

"I'm going to see if I can find out what flower it is."

Then her eyes twist as though she's thinking of something unpleasant, and that makes him nervous all over again.

"And how long you've got left to live."

*****

Dawn let him go about an hour or so after she found out, saying something about "Lucas told me he gets a break right about now, so it's a great time to drag him to a very romantic dinner for two and confess," to which he responded, "Who said I was confessing today?" to which _she_ responded, "No time like the present, Mr Zubat, now get out there and woo your man!"

Then her Empoleon had smacked him on the back encouragingly, (almost breaking his spine), and they sent him on his way.

"She was probably just annoyed," Barry complains to his Infernape as they head out to Route 202. He'd just...rather be running than sorting notes. That's all. He's surprised he lasted as long as he did, if he's being perfectly honest.

His infernape whacks him lightly with its tail, and he smiles at it.

"Let's run!"

Infernape makes a happy noise in agreement, and the two of them duck into matching sprints all the way to Jubilife City.

Barry feels so _alive_ when he runs- every rushing breath in and out of his lungs makes him want to laugh, and the fact that his pokemon will run with him fills him with so much joy he's sure he's extended his lifespan by about ten years just by smiling.

Infernape pulls ahead of him, and he makes an offended noise.

It sticks out its tongue at him and runs even faster.

"Rude!" Barry laughs in return, trying to catch the fire type, but it leaps up a wall and bounds across the windowsills, out of his reach.

He watches it, instead of where he's going, and crashes, mid-laugh, into another human being.

_THUD!!_

He lands with a solid _thump_ right onto his butt, and it _hurts._

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" he exclaims out of habit, (It started when he was younger, if he shouted it first maybe the adults he crashed into _wouldn't_ ), "I'm gonna fine you one million for that!"

He hears a familiar groan, and when he opens his eyes, he finds Lucas pushing himself onto his elbows, and his Luxray sniffing at him worriedly.

The champion coughs and gives him a half-smile, "How many millions is that now? I lost count after we turned fourteen."

"Lucas!" Barry scrambles to his feet and reaches out to help him up, "Sorry! You okay?"

Lucas laughs, then winces and accepts Barry's hand, "I've been worse."

Barry hauls him to his feet, and Luxray nuzzles Lucas's leg and whines softly.

"Raglan, I'm okay," He assures it softly, stroking its jet-black mane with a smile, "I've been knocked down before, and you should know."

Barry always forgets just how _small_ Lucas is. Even with that one growth spurt and the few inches he’s snagged over the years, Barry’s still got a good half-foot between him and the little champion. Dawn and Lucas are very, very close in height, so close in fact that the only way to tell that Dawn is taller by an inch is by putting them back to back.

Then Lucas notices he's still holding Barry's hand and takes it back with an apologetic look. Barry hopes his disappointment isn't leaking into his face and quickly plasters on a grin.

"So! What are you doin' in Jubilife? I'm sure there's a diner or something much closer to the league."

Lucas rubs one hand on the back of his neck. The pink in his cheeks makes Barry swallow a petal, "Yeah, there's a couple, but today's been..."

He sighs, _"...really_ stressful, so I decided coming here might be a good idea."

Barry's hands fidget at his sides as he fights the urge to pull Lucas into a hug and keep him away from the league for the rest of the day. It's _hard,_ and as much as he'd _love_ to force Lucas home and into some fluffy pajamas and watch dumb movies for the rest of the night, he has to remember that although the time apart really sucks, he _really_ likes being able to claim he's best friends with the champion, and Lucas likes _being_ the champion, even though it’s hard, and that means supporting him on days when he needs to be at the league.

So, instead of a hug, he clasps both of his hands around Lucas's again and puts on his brightest smile.

"Alright!" he announces, and Lucas startles a bit, "Then we're off, right? Let's get you fed!"

"Wak-" Lucas stumbles a bit behind him, but off they go towards what he remembers to be Lucas's favorite restaurant.

After they return their pokemon, he pushes his way inside with Lucas in tow and asks for a table for two.

He fidgets where he stands, swinging back and forth on his feet until he realizes he's still attached to Lucas.

Barry gives him a sheepish look but doesn't take his hand back, and Lucas returns it with an expression that is incredibly fond.

He squeezes his hand, "This is still your favorite place, right?"

Lucas breathes a laugh, "Yeah. It is."

Barry lets out a sigh of relief.

Soon, they're led to a table against the wall, the table barely big enough to fit their chopsticks, and when they sit, their knees knock together under the table, pressed close enough for Lucas's to fidget right along with Barry's.

He can't sit still no matter what he tries, and several people give him looks that probably mean something along the lines of _'stop drumming with your chopsticks or I'll punch you in the face, kid'_ but he only stops for a moment or two before he's drumming again.

"Alright, I love how fidgety you are as much as the next guy, but," Lucas reaches over and gently takes away his chopsticks, "I think I better take these before someone sends a Lucario after you."

Barry pouts at him, but Lucas only answers with a smile and a gentle, "You can have them back when you prove you won't play with them."

He huffs and folds his arms, which earns another laugh from the boy sitting across from him, and he has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep his own smile at bay.

There are a lot of unpleasant places in the world, but honestly? Being crammed together in a tiny booth in an even tinier restaurant in Jubilife City is not the worst place he's ever been.

After they get their food, Lucas gives him a _'do I trust you?'_ look before passing back his chopsticks, and Barry smiles.

*****

Barry leads the way outside, holding the door open for Lucas and grinning at the champion's little huffy fit when he rustles his hair. Their hour of dinner was delightful, full of Barry shooting straw wrappers and Lucas scolding him with no bite, delicious noodles, talks of challengers and pikachus that have no right knowing surf, and even after all of the laughter and games, Barry only coughed up two petals.

In a flash, a Staraptor appears, massive and sparkling and blue instead of red. Lucas says it took him _hours_ to find a shiny, and even longer to catch it, and it's not even a real part of his team. It knows fly and defog, because his Crobat is only the size of a Zubat and thus can't fly him around like Staraptor can.

”You sure you don’t want to stay home and watch movies instead of going to the league?” Barry asks as he helps Lucas climb onto the bird.

Lucas throws one leg over and pulls himself upright, “I’d love to Barry, but I _really_ have to be at the league today.”

Barry tries not to pout. Lucas shoots him a soft smile.

“How about tomorrow?" He offers, "We can spend all day in bed. I’m gonna have to recover from all the peopling I’m doing today.”

Barry’s face breaks out into a smile faster than he can rein it in.

”Okay!” He says brightly, “We can spend tomorrow morning watching movies and tomorrow afternoon in Amity Square!”

Lucas laughs, and just like that the flowers in his throat are back with a vengeance. Then he remembers; he completely forgot to tell Lucas about the flowers in his lungs.

“That sounds great,” Lucas nods, ever smiling, “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

”First thing tomorrow!”

Lucas flashes a thumbs up and then nudges his Staraptor into the air.

Barry waves wildly over his head with his entire arm, “Bye Luc!”

As soon as he wings out of sight, the flowers force their way up, and Barry coughs into his sleeve.

Nine petals. And the tiniest bit of blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was all going to be one chapter but then this part came really easy and the other parts are refusing to cooperate, so I'll be back with another chapter probably eventually at some point in the future
> 
> Also happy late Valentine's Day, love you all!


	2. Movies in the Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When she looks up from her DS and at her poketch again, it reads 3:38.  
> She heaves a silent sigh and swipes to the phone app on her Poketch. Maybe she can convince herself to wait when Barry doesn't pick up, because it's four-o-clock in the morning on a Saturday, why in Arceus's name would Barry be-  
> He picks up her call.  
> "Why are you _awake?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back again with some soft boyos!
> 
> Hope you enjoy <3

Dawn gave up on sleep about three hours ago. The clock on her poketch reads 3:37, which is far too early in the morning to be awake on a Saturday morning.

At least she managed to get in some sleep- about two hour's worth before she woke up, to be exact, (insomnia is _great_ )- and before that figured out exactly what kind of flowers Barry has in his lungs.

When she looks up from her DS and at her poketch again, it reads 3:38.

She heaves a silent sigh and swipes to the phone app on her Poketch. Maybe she can convince herself to wait when Barry doesn't pick up, because it's four-o-clock in the morning on a _Sa_ _turday,_ why in Arceus's name would Barry be-

He picks up her call.

"Why are you _awake?"_ is probably not the best thing to come spilling past her lips, considering _she_ was the one who called _him_ but it's too late and she's too tired to take them back.

 _"I could ask you the same thing,"_ Barry answers after a particularly nasty sounding cough, and she winces.

"Don't talk," she tells him quickly, and slips as silently as she can out of bed. Her sister is still asleep after all, she should be at least a little quiet, "That cough sounded really bad. Just listen, k?"

He hums and agreement and she finds her desk, then her notes, and she sits before speaking again.

"I found out what kind of flowers they are."

_"Really?!"_

"Don't talk!" Dawn hisses, shooting a glance back at her sister's bed. She didn't wake up. Thank the stars, "They're hydrangeas," She continues, talking fast, "Blue ones. Might be the climbing kind but you need an x-ray to know for sure."

Barry doesn't answer, but she can still hear his breathing- though it is faint.

"I don't know how long it'll take to kill you, but I imagine spending a lot of time without confessing isn't a good idea," She continues slowly, "So- just say yes or no- are you planning on seeing him today?"

She thinks she hears him swallow, then, quietly- _"Yes."_

Then there's a nasty cough from the other end, and Dawn covers her speaker until it ends.

"Is there blood yet?"

_"First appeared yesterday."_

"So not a lot?"

_"No."_

"Are you breathing okay?"

There's a pause that's just a beat too long for her liking.

" _Bar_ _ry._ "

_"I mean, I don't really know? I can still breathe but I can kinda sorta...feel the flowers in my throat? It's not that bad ye-"_

Then he coughs, long and hard, and Dawn thinks she can actually hear the petals falling.

 _"Okay, ouch,”_ He croaks. Then there's a sharp inhale and she hears him murmur, _"Oh- That's probably not good."_

"What?" Dawn asks quickly, "What's not good, Barry? What happened?"

_"Just...more blood. It's fine. I'm good. Talk to you later, Dawn."_

Then her call is dropped, and her heart hammers at her chest.

_No._

She tries calling him back three more times, but he does not pick up.

"That _idiot,_ " She growls, "He _better_ confess before it gets bad or I _swear_ I'm going to rip those flowers out of his lungs myself."

*****

Barry regrets not having tissues in his room.

It's not like sneaking out of his room is a problem- his mom is a heavy sleeper and his dad's snoring is ten times louder than any noise he could possibly make on his own, but he wishes he could just clean up inside his room without needing to get things from the bathroom.

But he manages to slip out and back in without either parent waking up to find him, and he hurries back to his desk to dispose of the evidence.

There's a _lot_ of blood this time.

Like, and actual puddle of blood this time.

And what looks like five tiny flowers, each one with five petals in varying shades of blue.

They're so small. All five of them could probably fit in his palm at the same time.

He'll have to look up a picture of the actual flower later- so he knows what exactly what he might start coughing up soon- but there's no time to waste.

He wipes up the blood with tissues he snatched from the bathroom and throws the used ones away, even going so far as to cover the bloody ones with fresh ones in case his parents take a look in the garbage can.

As soon as everything is disposed of, the petals in his throat begin to itch, and he coughs, long and hard, three more flowers into the garbage can.

Not as much blood as before, so that's good.

Barry wipes his hand across his mouth.

He is so screwed.

*****

Lucas is already awake when Barry comes tapping at his window.

Does he _want_ to be awake?

No. He almost never wants to be awake, but he's developed some sort of sixth sense to know exactly when Barry is coming, and it works in his sleep like a really annoying alarm clock.

His window has been opened and closed and messed with and broken into so many times that the lock doesn't even work anymore, which is great for Barry to be able to come and go as he pleases, but also very concerning because that means other, non-Barry things can break in. It should probably be replaced, considering the fact that Lucas is in fact the Champion, but they haven't gotten around to it yet.

He hears the old piece of glass slide open, and shoes tapping onto the floor, but he tries to ignore it. Maybe Barry will go away and he can get a few more hours of sleep.

"Luuuuucaaaaaaas~" Barry sings softly, and soon there are gentle hands shaking him, "Wakey wakey..."

"You know," Lucas says groggily, rubbing one eye and glaring over his shoulder at Barry, "When you said "first thing tomorrow" I didn't think you meant "six am on a saturday" first thing tomorrow."

Barry laughs and pulls off Lucas's blankets.

Lucas can actually see him now, and observes that he has a duffel bag slung across his back and tennis shoes on his feet, and an orange, chimchar-themed onesie over the rest of him.

 _Arceus above,_ he's cute.

"C'mon, little diamond," Barry grins down at him, "These movies won't watch themselves!"

*****

It took some effort, but the two of them together managed to push Lucas's bed across the room to in front of his tv, and by raiding the closet down the hall and making a few trips downstairs, they managed to gather every pillow and blanket in the house.

Barry sets up the first movie while Lucas makes a nest behind him.

"Have you seen this one before?" Barry asks, lifting the cover over his shoulder.

"Maybe once," Lucas answers, sounding half asleep, "When it came out, probably, but not since then."

Barry turns around to hand Lucas one remote, and the boy accepts it, surrounded on all sides by pillow after pillow and half a million blankets.

The colors are clashing horribly with each other and with Lucas's munchlax pajamas, but Barry thinks it's absolutely adorable, and he has to bury his face in his sleeve so he can cough up four more flowers.

When he comes back up for air, the movie is two previews in, and Lucas's face is the very image of concern.

"That sounded really bad," Lucas says softly, "Do you need water?"

Barry clears his throat and _prays_ to arceus that there's no blood on his face.

"I'm alright," He flashes his best smile at Lucas and swipes the other remote, "Thank you, though."

Lucas watches him worriedly while he crawls over. He lets himself in to Lucas's nest, and they both shift to get comfortable.

"If you're sure," Lucas says slowly then, and Barry smiles at him again.

"I'm sure."

*****

Maybe it's been a little bit too long since their last sleepover, but Barry forgot just how _clingy_ Lucas is when he's half asleep.

The third movie of the morning is flashing across the television and morning light from the window is kind of ruining the whole "up at midnight watching movies" feel they had a few hours ago, but it's still _delightful_ because halfway through the second movie Lucas started drifting off, _right into Barry's lap-_

The tiny champion is half curled in blankets half laying in Barry's lap, and honestly Barry might melt into a happy little puddle from all the heat in his face.

Lucas looks so _soft,_ especially in these pajamas that are too big for him- he looks so small and oh so sleepy- staring up at the screen with half-lidded eyes.

After the first movie, Barry had to give in and they went downstairs to get water bottles and two giant bowls of popcorn, (courtesy of Johanna, because she's amazing), and at first water helped but now not so much.

He's been holding in a cough for who knows how long now, he can't really tell because time is the strangest concept and all he really knows is that he does _not_ want to disturb the boy in his lap who looks like he just fell asleep for real-

But the flowers win, just like they always do, and he coughs into the reddest blanket he can find, hoping that that'll cover up any blood if it comes.

Six flowers. Tiny ones like the ones earlier.

Then, another cough, and two more.

Apparently having Lucas in his lap is great for the flowers. They're growing faster, he can feel them inching up his throat.

He pulls his head out of the blanket, (after wiping it off of course, can't have any blood on his face), and looks down, meeting Lucas's now half-worried-half-asleep eyes.

"You okay?" Lucas asks softly, voice heavy with sleep, like the coughing just woke him up and now Barry feels terrible for not only waking him up but also for the coughing that follows his question.

"Yep!" Barry answers, balling up the blanket with the flowers inside and holding it close, "I just kinda gotta go to the bathroom, could you...?"

Lucas stares up at him for a moment, maybe to figure out if he's lying or not, but he's actually telling the truth about needing a bathroom, all that water from before went straight through him.

Lucas gives in when he starts bouncing his legs. He _probably_ shouldn't have waited so long, but what else was he supposed to do? Lucas was so cute, he didn't want to get up too fast-

"Okay," says the boy in his lap, soft as the pajamas he's wearing, "Don't be too long. I want my pillow back."

Then he sits up enough for Barry to worm his way out from under him, and he takes the red blanket to the bathroom with him.

He shuts and locks the door, does his business, and flushes the petals down when he's finished. After washing his hands he inspects the blanket, his sleeves, and then his face for blood in the mirror and comes up, thankfully, with nothing.

He should tell him. He doesn't know why he hasn't.

Barry takes a deep breath, and regrets it when the flowers in his throat itch.

He's not going to tell him.

He coughs up two more tiny flowers before leaving the bathroom, and his eyes land on a cocoon of blankets where their nest just was.

"Uhm. Luc?"

The cocoon moves, and part of it opens, revealing a flushed face and Lucas's tired eyes.

"Are you going into hibernation?"

Lucas pouts at him.

"I wouldn't _need_ to go into hibernation if you hadn't taken _all of winter_ to get out of the bathroom."

Barry snorts a laugh- he can't afford anything long or loud so long as the flowers are in his throat- and extends a hand.

"C'mon," Barry says softly, lips curling into a smile, "I think I'm ready for Amity Square."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next stop, Amity Square, and maybe some good ol' Poffin making!


	3. Finding Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They twist together on the grass for a while longer, laughing as Lucas stumbles over himself and Barry messes up steps, not noticing the rain getting harder until they are thoroughly soaked and Barry's hair is dripping-  
> "How in arceus's name is your hair still sticking up like that."  
> "Magic, my diamond, it's all magic."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey there!  
> i hope you're doing okay  
> stay safe <3

Barry waits on Lucas's porch, (he must not use the front door often, it's covered in half a million potted plants and he has _no idea_ when they all got here), wearing one of Lucas's spare blue raincoats, his favorite green scarf, a pair of pink slowpoke boots, holding a watermelon umbrella and looking up at the sky.

There are clouds. Big ones. Big and gray and crackling with what might be lightning, and he narrows his eyes, accepting the challenge.

He and Lucas _will_ have the best date ever, you just wait and see, clouds.

Behind him, the door opens, and Lucas appears at his side. For a moment, both of them watch the shifting sky.

"It's going to rain," Lucas observes quietly.

"Indeed," Barry answers.

A pause.

"Should I get another umbrella?"

"Only if you're a coward."

The look Lucas gives him at that is stern and playful and so, so cute, and Barry pulls up his collar to hide his cough.

He. Can't. _Breathe_.

There are petals in his airway and probably some blood on Lucas's coat, and he can feel blood-soaked petals slipping down his sleeves and it's absolutely disgusting. There's a pause in his coughing and he tries to catch his breath with flowers stuck between his teeth-

"...maybe we should get some water for the road?"

Barry waves off the suggestion, but Lucas goes back inside anyway.

Which is actually a good thing, it turns out. It gives him time to open up his coat and dump all the petals in one of the bluer plants- this one here, climbing up the wall. Luckily the colors are roughly the same and the flowers are the same size and shap-

Wait a minute.

Barry brushes all the petals off and makes sure he's not covered in blood before zipping his coat back up and leaning close to study the plant.

_He knows this one._

The door opens and shuts again, and he jumps when there's a cold water bottle pressed to the back of his neck.

He whirls around, arms swinging and Lucas easily ducks under his attacks before he can smack him and calmly holds out the water bottle.

"I've got more in my bag," he says as Barry accepts it, "You should have one now though."

"Thanks," Barry unscrews the cap, "Do you know what this plant is? The one on the wall?"

He gestures at it and takes a drink from the bottle, (he can feel it rushing past the flowers in his throat and it's rather unpleasant). Lucas looks it over.

"I think Mom said it's a hydrangea?" He says after a moment, eyes moving up and down the wall, "She planted it like, three years ago though, so I don't remember for sure."

Barry swallows the water and screws back on the cap, "I'm sure you're right."

Lucas smiles up at him, (it almost sends him into another coughing fit), and pulls a pokeball from his belt without looking, "Shall we be off then?"

Barry smiles, "I just wanna take a picture first."

*****

Dawn's poketch lights up with a notification; a multimedia message from Barry.

The picture is of him and Lucas in front of what looks like Lucas's house, there's a hydrangea in the background, Lucas looks half asleep as he smiles and Barry is full on _glaring_ at the hydrangeas.

The caption says "Demon Plant" and she _laughs._

*****

_"'Demon Plant'_ _indeed,"_ says Dawn's text, sent as soon as they land in front of Amity Square, _"I'll admit, that made me laugh. How's the date going?"_

Barry types quickly, _"Demon Plant is a demon."_

Then, as Lucas lands behind him, _"It's going great! It might rain while we're in amity square but the poffin house is nearby and i've got berries for daaaaaays so we'll have fun no matter the weather."_

_"Sounds fun. Send me pictures of you and Luc covered in batter."_

_"Will do."_

Lucas appears then, leaning over his shoulder with a Happiny in his arms, "Who are you texting?"

"Dawn," Barry answers, ruffling Lucas's hair, "She's wondering what we're up to."

Lucas hums and gently pets his Happiny.

Barry sends off a goodbye to Dawn and then reaches over to take Lucas's hand.

He gives it a squeeze.

"You ready?"

Lucas's smile is soft and oh so cute-

"Always."

*****

The day may be overcast and gray, but Barry is as bright as a sunbeam as he rushes through the park with Lucas's Pikachu, Kachi. He's fast, fast enough to keep with her quick attack, his laugh so bright it makes Lucas feel lighter than air.

Lucas does his best to keep up with the two of them running, but soon gives up and plops himself (and their bags) down on the fountain while he watches Barry and Kachi chase each other through the grass and under the trees. The lake is off to his left somewhere, past a couple of trees.

He gently sets Harper down at his feet, and the Happiny trills happily before bouncing over to Barry, who scoops her up high over his head and laughs at the excited noise she makes.

Barry twirls around in the grass with a Pikachu on his shoulder and a Happiny in his arms. Both are Lucas's pokemon actually, turns out Barry doesn't have a single pokemon on the approved list, so they had to make a trip to a PC to get a Pikachu- and this one happens to know surf.

Lucas leans forward, elbows on his knees and chin cradled in his hands, perfectly content to watch from the fountain.

Kachi makes a noise and jumps off Barry's shoulder, darting off into one of the bushes, and Barry follows, kneeling down by it with Harper held close. For a moment the bush rustles, and Barry watches on until Kachi pops out with a feather in her mouth, bright red, and Barry accepts it with an outstretched hand.

Then she's moving again, with a bright "Pika pi!" and shoots up one of the trees.

Barry passes the feather off to Harper and follows the mouse, huffing and coming to a stop at the trunk-

-and Kachi falls right onto his head with another feather in her mouth, this time yellow.

Lucas laughs when Barry falls on his butt, but quickly covers his mouth when the blond shoots him a glare.

Harper begins to cry from the fall and Lucas takes that as his cue to join him, but Barry holds up one hand and gives him a look that says "I've got this, hold on" and picks her up.

Then Lucas's laugh is back, this time at Barry and Kachi's attempts at hilarious faces to cheer up little Harper, and it _works,_ she went from crying to squealing with laughter.

Barry looks so proud of himself that Lucas can't help but fall a little bit in love with him.

Anxiety bubbles up in his chest at that thought- just like every other time he thinks about his sexuality and whether he's attracted to boys or girls- and recently he's tilting more towards boys than girls and _that-_

That makes him nervous.

There are just- so, so many people who could hate him for that and he just-

He’s so lost in his head that he doesn’t notice that Barry is right in front of him until the blond is reaching out to tilt his hat up so their eyes can meet.

”Hey,” he whispers like a secret, hazel eyes bright and shining, with a Pikachu on his head and a Happiny in his arms, “It’s raining.”

Lucas looks up at the gray clouds above them, feeling the gentle drops on his face and hands before Barry gently sets Harper down.

The blond offers him a hand, face warm and bright and encouraging, lips quirked up in the softest of smiles before he speaks.

"May I have this dance?"

Lucas smiles.

*****

As soon as he takes his hand, Barry pulls Lucas up and onto the grass, and then into a closed position, close enough for their scarves to brush. One hand at Lucas's waist, the other one holding his hand probably far too tight, and Lucas answers with a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know how to follow," Lucas say softly, adjusting the fingers on his shoulder. Barry tries not to squirm at the ticklish feeling.

"I don't remember how to lead," Barry answers with half a laugh, and gently leans until their foreheads knock together, only for a moment, "We'll make it work, yeah?"

Lucas breathes a laugh as Barry straightens again, swallowing back petals.

"Yeah."

They may not remember much from their one and only social dance class last summer, but they remember enough to fall into step together, fingers intertwined and gentle laughs mingling with raindrops- there are pokemon at their feet, running it and out of their twisting steps and splashing in the rain-

 _"I'm_ leading," Barry reminds him with a grin, as Lucas stumbles over his feet again.

Lucas breaks his hold on Barry's hand and readjusts his cap with a half-laugh.

"My feet apparently don't realize that."

Their hands find each other again.

They twist together on the grass for a while longer, laughing as Lucas stumbles over himself and Barry messes up steps, not noticing the rain getting harder until they are thoroughly soaked and Barry's hair is dripping-

"How in arceus's name is your hair still sticking up like that."

"Magic, my diamond, it's all magic."

Both jump when lightning flashes, and when they look, Kachi's cheeks crackle and Harper is crying.

"Ah!" Lucas lets go of Barry and practically dives down to scoop her up, "Shh... sorry love, it's okay..."

Barry watches him soothe her until she stops crying, and in a flash puts her back in a pokeball.

Lucas takes a deep breath and gives Barry a half-smile, and he smiles back.

"Let me get my umbrella, yeah?" He swivels around and starts off towards the fountain to get his bag, "If you're down to walk we can go to the poffin house, I've got so many berries, we can make the best poffins you've ever se-"

His chest heaves suddenly and he almost throws up right then and there-

Barry covers his mouth with both hands and coughs up a storm of petals, eyes watering, throat wet and gross and he can't _breathe-_

"Barry!"

Lucas's hands are on his back now, and the petals _hurt-_

"Barry are those-"

The petals stop and arceus _above_ does he hate this-

He coughs to dislodge the last flower in his throat and tentatively lifts his gaze to meet Lucas's, gray blue eyes full of tears as he looks down at the mess of blood and petals that is Barry-

"Barry?" Lucas whispers, "Are you okay?"

Barry laughs, tears falling down his cheeks like the rain around them, and Lucas pulls him into a hug.

"I'm sorry," he chokes, burying his face in Lucas's neck, "I-I'm s-so sorry-"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaah okay so this might actually be five chapters instead of four i had a completely different plan but then the petals decided to appear way to early so here we go i'll see you (and the poffins) in the next one!


	4. In which Dawn beats Barry at Mario Kart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Why are all of your pajamas so huge?"  
> Dawn pauses from untangling the cables and looks back at Barry, who is now clad in bright green caterpie pajamas and stumbling back into her room with a sleeping bag in his arms.  
> He climbs over the mountain of pillows and blankets behind her and plops down at her side, wrapping himself around the sleeping bag like it's a stuffed animal, and she goes back to her cables with a smile.  
> "Emergency sleepovers," She answers simply, "Duh."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alternate summary: local gay disaster confesses to his best friend by puking up flowers and blood in public, it goes about as well as you'd expect

The rain does not keep them from flying home- and though it's a wobbly journey, they make it back to Twinleaf.

Lucas tries to ignore Barry's body-wracking coughs as he clings to him.

"You good back there?" Lucas shouts over the storm.

Barry nods against his back.

"We're almost home," He calls as Staraptor weaves around a tree, "Just focus on breathing, okay?"

Another nod.

He wishes he could hold his hand.

Twinleaf comes into view a few minutes later, and they touch down in front of Barry's house.

Barry slides off Staraptor first with Lucas not long after, reaching out to squeeze his hands as soon as both of them are safely on the ground.

"Are you okay? Can you breathe?"

Barry opens his mouth to respond and is cut off by petals- _hundred_ _s_ of them- whirlwinds of blue all connected to one stem and it falls past his lips and onto the ground below, soaked in rain and what looks like blood, and it absolutely breaks his heart.

Three full flowers, buds, leaves and all.

"Hydrangeas," Lucas says softly as Barry catches his breath.

There's a glare in his hazel eyes, as well as what looks like tears, and Lucas wants to give him a hu-

"I'd call them pretty if they hadn't just come from my lungs."

Lucas flinches, and Barry squeezes his hands.

"Sorry," Rainwater drips down his face like tears on a pained smile, "Too early to joke about my inevitable death?"

Lucas narrows his eyes at the blond, "You are _not_ going to die."

Barry winces at that.

"Come on," He releases one of Barry's hands and returns his Staraptor to a pokeball, "Let's get that blood off your face."

*****

Barry does not protest as Lucas pulls him inside, the grip on his hand firm as he's guided right up the stairs to his bedroom.

The flowers are pushing their way up his throat. It feels crowded and wet with blood and tastes like a salad without dressing and flowers and dirt, and he's pretty sure if he talks now he's going to throw up at least seven bouquets worth of flowers.

Lucas knows. Lucas knows he's coughing up flowers. He should tell him, right now, before it gets any worse.

He opens his mouth, and just as expected flowers come flying out instead of words, spilling past his lips and onto the stairs, like some disgusting blue-and-red waterfall from the deepest part of his lungs.

Lucas holds his hand all the way through it, with no way to know that these flowers are for _him_ until he _tells him_ but he can't get the words out between the petals and when they finally stop coming he sucks in breath after breath like he's never going to breathe again, and gently Lucas tugs at his hand until he follows him up the stairs.

Lucas releases him upon entering his room, heading straight for Barry's dresser and fishing around.

He doesn't mind at all, it's just weird to realize that Lucas knows his room as well as Barry knows his.

He reaches out to take Lucas's backpack, (who shrugs it off without even looking up from the drawers), and pads over to his bed. He plops down and starts searching for a Fresh Water.

How is Lucas's bag so organized? Barry's bag always ends up a mess no matter how hard he tries.

"So," Lucas begins awkwardly, and Barry's chest clenches with what could be petals or anxiety he honestly doesn't know at this point, "You've...had them for a while, right?"

Barry clears his throat, dislodges about seven petals, and answers with a small, raspy, "Yes."

Lucas nods, still leaning over Barry's drawers, "I won't- I won't ask, cause if you want me to know you would have told me already, and I just- I hope he returns your feelings, if you confess."

Barry rubs his throat with one hand.

"Me too."

Lucas straightens, and blue eyes meet gold. There's a smile on his face, light and reassuring, and Barry manages a hopefully not too wobbly smile back.

He pads across the room and puts the clothes in Barry's lap.

"You go change," Lucas says softly, taking his backpack, "What were you looking for?"

*****

When Barry comes back out of the bathroom, Lucas is there, wearing some of Barry's pajamas, (his pikachu ones, to be exact), and their faces simultaneously turn bright red.

They blink at each other for a moment before Lucas laughs awkwardly.

"Hi."

Barry half-laughs and has a hard time filling his lungs afterwards, "Hi."

"I just," Lucas tugs awkwardly at the smiling pikachu on the shirt, "Wanted to see if they fit."

"Yeah, yeah, that's," Barry tries to cough the raspy feeling away, "That's cool. You're really cute."

Lucas doesn't answer for a long moment, eyes wide and cheeks still a brilliant flame.

Then, softly, "You think I'm cute?"

"Uhm..." Barry doesn't know how to answer that, "Yes?"

The smile Lucas gives him at that is so precious it makes him want to squish his cheeks-

-but instead he ducks back into the bathroom and coughs up petals and blood in the sink.

Is this what his life has become? He can't look at Lucas for longer than a minute before coughing up bouquets?

"Barry? Sh-should I lea-"

There's a knock at the door, and that's the only warning they get before Barry's mother opens the door, a handful of petals falling through her fingers and a horrified look on her face-

"Barry? What-"

He wipes blood on his face, but he can feel the wetness smearing across his face.

She freezes, with that terrible look on her face, and Barry swallows back more petals.

"Yeah Luc- you-" he clears his throat "-you should go. Thanks for getting me home safe."

"When do I-"

Barry breaks eye contact with his mother and looks to his best friend, "Will you meet me at the poffin house tomorrow at two? I..."

He swallows back more petals and looks away from Lucas's wet eyes, "I-I want to tell you something."

Lucas doesn't answer, but after a moment, his voice is soft, "Okay. I'll- I'll meet you there."

Barry's smile is barely an upturn of lips, and when he meets Lucas's eyes he feels far too shy, "Thank you."

There's a moment of rustling, Lucas gathering his things, and then soft words of farewell to Barry's mother, and Lucas is gone.

The flowers retreat, and for the first time in hours, he feels like he can breathe again.

*****

Lucas wipes his sweaty palms on his pants again, scanning the ever-busy streets of Hearthome City, as Piper, his crobat, balances herself delicately atop his head. She's tiny- small enough to be cradled in his arms, and back when she was a zubat he could hold her in the palm of his hand.

Everything about yesterday has left his brain in a constant loop of nothing but worry worry worry. Is Barry okay? He really isn't used to waiting around for his best friend, yet here they are, waiting in front of the poffin house at 2 pm, just as Barry asked, and he's- just- he's nervous. Really really nervous-

"See him yet?" He asks Piper for probably the millionth time in almost ten minutes, and though she might have humored him before, this time she whacks him with one of her wings.

That startles a laugh from him, "Alright, alright, I'll stop asking."

She settles back in the nest she's made of his hair, and he keeps his eyes peeled for a familiar head of blond hair and orange stripes-

"LUC!" A voice shouts behind him, and that's all the warning he gets before-

**THUD!!**

"Woah!"

An arm snags him around the waist before he can break his nose on the pavement, and he's hauled back to his feet by a pair of familiar orange-stripe clad arms. He turns around, coming face to face with a pair of brilliant hazel eyes.

It's Barry, (who else would it be?), looking a trillion times better than yesterday, and without really thinking, Lucas wraps his arms around him in a tight hug.

"Aww, hi friend," Barry says above him before returning the hug, "I missed you too, but I kinda got a face full of crobat right now."

Lucas steps back, a firm grasp on both of Barry's hands and he looks him straight in the eye-

"Are you okay?"

Barry smiles at him and squeezes his hands, "Yeah, I think so. My mom knows about the flowers now. And my dad. My _goodness,_ that was a scary conversation."

Barry pulls a face, "I didn't think I'd have to come out to him _again,_ but apparently he forgot I like guys, even though I've liked guys _literally_ my _entire life-"_

Lucas studies his face very carefully for any sign of discomfort, but it seems Barry is back to himself, bright and loud and a little overbearing-

Then Lucas interrupts him, "Are you breathing okay?"

Barry beams, "Yeah! A little better than yesterday, at least!"

He takes a very deep breath to demonstrate, and lets it out in a rush, "I puked up flowers for like, twenty minutes, but after some...I think cough syrup or whatever mom made me drink, everything kind of worked together and I can breathe now."

He starts rocking on his feet, "Or a little while at least. Might get worse, but we should do stuff before the petals come back. You ready to make some super good poffins?"

Piper whacks Lucas with one of her wings again, as if to say she agrees, but Lucas has one last question-

"Will you tell me who it is?"

Barry looks at him with those big, hazel eyes, and just like that, the blond's confidence shatters.

"Ah-I uhm-" Barry swallows- "Can we- I mean- is it okay if we make poffins first?"

"Yeah," Lucas smiles, "We can do that. But you promise you'll tell me after?"

Barry draws an "x" over his heart with his finger and grins, "Cross my heart."

*****

Barry may have been lying about being able to breathe.

Just a little bit.

It's not like he _can't_ breathe, and it's true what he said about breathing better than yesterday, it's just...very quickly getting worse, now that he's here with Luc. That seems to be a trend with the flowers. As long as he isn't near Lucas, he can pretty much function like a normal human being.

So he fights the urge to hold Lucas's hand as they walk into the building together, and Lucas handles all the talking, and soon they're led to an open table with a poffin-making-machine, and the woman hands them a spoon, and knife, and a cutting board, and before she leaves, passes Barry a bag of batter.

Lucas smiles at him, and the clench in his chest tells him it's time to think about something else.

So he smiles back and turns his attention to the bag in his hands, raw and yellowish, it reminds him a little bit like whipped cream or...whipped eggs?

"Batter feels so weird."

Lucas doesn't look up from the dials on the machine, "How so?"

Barry lifts it to eye level and just...squints at it.

"It's so squishy."

Lucas's laugh is so cute and small and perfect, and Barry coughs up a handful of tiny flowers into his sleeve.

When he looks up, Lucas is leaning over the table and fretting, "That sounded really painful, are you okay?!"

Barry clears his throat, "There's no blood, is there?"

Lucas's eyes flick over his face, and he can feel it growing warm-

"No, there's- there's no blood."

They sit watching each other, the poffin machine piping away between them, it's ready for batter now it looks like.

Barry breaks eye contact first, brushing the flowers onto the floor, then pushing up his sleeves and leaning over the machine so he can dump in the batter.

"Hey, Barry?"

"Hm?"

"Your hanahaki..."

Oh no.

"You're not- I mean- y-you're not...in love...with-urm- m- _me-_ "

Barry's gaze snaps up, and Lucas peeks at him through his eyelashes, small and vulnerable and so, so fragile-

"-are you?"

Barry's blush comes so fast he actually feels a little lightheaded, and he breaks into a nervous laugh.

He is going to be _sick._ It wasn't supposed to happen this way. Not now. Not with so many people around. Oh arceus above, what is he supposed to say? Lucas is going to hate him forever-

"I uhm- yeah I-" He stammers for a moment, pulling the empty bag away from the machine as his brain brain trips over itself until he's just...a mess. He's a mess! Why did he wait so long? Why didn't he confess on day one? At least then the flowers would be gone alread-

"Woah, hey, don't cry," Lucas breaks him out of his spiraling head with a gentle hand cradling his cheek, "I'm really sorry, I didn't- I didn't mean to put you on the spot that was a stupid suggestion, I'm really sorry-"

"No, stop stop stop," Barry lets out a wet laugh and wipes his eyes, "It's- it's okay, Luc. I promise. I'm just, I'm also _really_ sorry, I should have told you a long time ago, when the flowers started and I just _didn't_ and-"

He laughs again, a little broken, and looks up at Lucas again, who's face is so wide and confused and he feels so, so terrible, but he owes it to him-

"I like you, Lucas," Barry confesses, long overdue and far to broken, "I like you so much- it's crazy, Luc, I've got flowers in my lungs because I-"

The flowers in his chest are burn, burn, _burning,_ and he chokes on the stupid, stupid words coming out of his mouth-

"I _love you,_ Luc," He says, finally finally finally, the words are out and he can be rejected right here, "Please-"

He clenches his eyes shut, tears spilling down his cheeks, "Please- please just say you hate me- I-I-"

Then the petals are back, he wants to cry, and he can't look Lucas in the face.

Then two hands gently cradle his, and Lucas's voice is so soft.

"Barry, I..."

Oh arceus-

"I don't really..."

The petals are rising so so slowly- rising into his throat with anxiety and arceus _above_ , he isn't ready.

"I don't-"

He's coughing.

The petals have made it now, to his throat, and he coughs. Coughs and coughs and coughs and he doesn't hear any of Lucas's rejections- he yanks his hands from Lucas's grip and makes a run for the door, blinded by tears and trying to hold back petals-

Someone yells behind him, and he thinks it might be Lucas, but he does not stop. The doors of the poffin house slam shut behind him, and all he can feel is the thundering of his feet on the pavement.

He's not ready- not ready to be rejected.

He's not ready to die.

*****

Dawn is in bed, dressed in some baggy, pink-and-blue piplup pajamas and lounging, when there's a knock at her door, snapping her out of the world of Pokemon Crossing, and now she's ready to punch whoever decided to knock. She _knows_ it isn't her sister, her sister wouldn't knock.

She's still glaring at the door when they knock again, so timid and shy she thinks it might be Lucas.

"Come in," She calls, leaning back against her pillows and going back to shaking trees, "Should be unlocked."

When she glances up, the door is swinging open still, and there's Barry, who looks like an absolute mess of blood and petals-

She snaps her DS shut and jumps off her bed.

"What happened!" She rushes to him, the door clicking softly shut, "I thought you and Luc were making poffins!"

That was the wrong thing to say, she discovers as Barry's eyes spill over with tears, and she hurries to her desk to retrieve the garbage can.

Barry apologizes, even as petals spill past his lips, and she hushes him, guides him to sit at her desk, and digs through her bag for a fresh water.

"I'm sorry," He says again, after the petals have slowed. She hushes him as she pulls a fresh water from her bag.

She moves back to her desk as Barry coughs up tiny flowers- nothing with a stem, thank the stars- and unscrews the cap.

Barry takes the bottle without a fuss and Dawn slides the garbage off his lap and onto the floor.

"I'm sorry," He says again, and she ruffles his hair.

"I'm going to make you some tea," She answers, "You better not be dead when I get back."

*****

Making tea calms her down enough to think straight, and the walk back upstairs helps her plan what she's going to say to the gay disaster in her bedroom.

First order of business is to probably get to the bottom of what just happened.

She pauses outside her door to knock, giving Barry a warning before she opens the door.

He's where she left him, still sitting in the chair, now without his scarf and bag.

She pads softly to his side, gently nudging his arm.

He flinches, hazel eyes awash with tears when his gaze snaps up to hers-

"Hey," She says softly.

"H-hey," He sputters, wiping his eyes on his sleeves, "Hey, sorry."

He takes the tea from her then and sips as she watches, leaning against her desk.

"So," She says softly, "I'd like to know what happened, and why you're here."

He winces, arms in his lap, both hands loosely holding the mug of tea.

"But," She continues, "You don't have to tell me right now. I can show you my pokemon crossing village? And we can just chill? I'm sure I can find some pajamas that'll fit you."

Barry smiles then, so small and so tired.

"Okay."

*****

"Why are all of your pajamas so huge?"

Dawn pauses from untangling the cables and looks back at Barry, who is now clad in bright green caterpie pajamas and stumbling back into her room with a sleeping bag in his arms.

He climbs over the mountain of pillows and blankets behind her and plops down at her side, wrapping himself around the sleeping bag like it's a stuffed animal, and she goes back to her cables with a smile.

"Emergency sleepovers," She answers simply, "Duh."

After untangling the cords, she finishes hooking up her gamecube and passes off a controller. She flips through a pile of games and pops in mario kart, and after a couple of button presses, they've started the game.

"Only nerds pick toad and toadette," Dawn teases, leaning back into the pillows.

"Only evil masterminds pick Bowser Junior and koopa troopa," Barry fires back.

She laughs, he hits both triggers for a random cup, and then they're off.

They finish the flower cup, and the mushroom cup, and they're halfway through the crown cup when Barry starts fidgeting.

 _"How_ are you so _good_ at this?!" He demands.

"This game is literally my childhood, Barry," She smiles up at him from where she's laying in the pillows, but he doesn't even spare a glance, still fidgeting.

The next race is about to start, but Dawn hits the start button to pause the game and sits up.

"What's wrong?"

Barry stills.

"I may have overreacted today."

She puts down her controller.

"How so?"

Barry puts down his own controller and curls further into himself, "Lucas didn't even..."

He sighs heavily, pressing his face into the sleeping bag, "I don't know."

Dawn turns down the volume and sits back again.

A moment of silence, and she gently reaches over to run her fingers through his hair.

"What did he say?"

Barry lifts his head, cheeks now stained with tears, and he sniffles.

"I don't remember?" He wipes at his eyes with one hand, "I don't- I don't think he said anything, to be honest."

Dawn ruffles his hair.

"Could you start from the beginning?" She asks, "All I know is that you two were going to make poffins."

Barry nods, "Do I start at the poffin making or this morning?"

"Whichever you feel more comfortable with."

He nods again, and slowly uncurls himself from his sleeping bag.

"This morning, mom almost didn't let me leave the house," Barry confesses softly, "She said it was too dangerous to go see Lucas."

Dawn lets her hand fall out of Barry's hair and lays back on the pillows. After a moment of hesitation, he lays next to her.

"I told her, 'I'm going to confess to Lucas today,' and she let me go," he continues, "So I went."

She gently reaches over, brushing his arm softly with her fingers, and he loosens his grip on the sleeping bag in his arms.

"Turns out I was super not ready to hear Lucas's rejection."

She brushes his arm again when his voice trembles, and his hand falls to the pile. She links their fingers together and lets him hold on as tight as he needs.

He takes a shaky breath and continues, "I ran. I confessed to Lucas, and I ran away like an _idiot."_

Dawn hums. Barry running away definitely sounds like him, but Lucas?

"Lucas rejected you?"

Barry doesn't say anything for a long moment.

"I don't actually know."

Dawn pulls a face and pushes herself onto her elbows so she can look down at him.

"What do you mean you don't know."

"I was scared, okay?!" Barry shoots upright, taking his hand from her gentle grip and waving them about, "I've just- I've been in love with him since we were _kids,_ I'm pretty dang sure he's the entire reason I identify as gay, and I just- I really, _really_ didn't want to hear him reject me! What if- what if he doesn't- doesn't even _like boys-_ and now I've gone and made our entire friendship awkward?!"

He curls into himself all over again, silent tears slipping past his chin and voice dropping to barely a whisper, "What if I ruined everything?"

Dawn picks up one of the smaller blankets and gently pats the tears off his face.

"I don't think you've ruined anything," She tries, using her gentlest voice, "You two have one of the strongest bonds I've ever seen, I don't think you confessing is going to ruin that."

Barry finally looks at her, eyes still dripping and just overall looking so, so heartbroken.

"I promise Lucas doesn't hate you," She assures him in a stronger voice this time, "So stop beating yourself up over it, okay?"

He doesn't answer. She nudges him softly.

"Think about it, okay? You should talk to him at least. Before you make any more crazy assumptions."

He watches her for a moment, with big hazel eyes. Then he sniffles, nods, and wipes his face on his sleeve.

"Okay."

She smiles.

"But," He says then, and she tilts her head, "If he does hate me, I'm getting the surgery."

Dawn blinks at him.

"What?"

"DAWN! COME GET YOUR STUFF OUT OF THE BATHROOM!"

Barry flinches at her sister's yelling and Dawn just sighs.

"IN A MINUTE!" She shouts back, "I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING!"

Then the door swings open and Mya is there, dressed in a short skirt with a bow in her hair. There's a pink pachirisu on her head, and she does _not_ look happy. Does she have a date or something? Pajamas aren't usually so formal.

"Is that my skirt?" Dawn asks.

Mya glaring daggers and holds out a bag. There's an orange and white sleeve hanging out of it.

"Since when do you even own a shirt that looks like this?"

"I don't," Dawn gestures at the boy beside her, "It's Barry's. _And_ you didn't answer my question. Is that my skirt?"

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't," Mya shrugs, "Also, hi Barry, I have your stuff."

"Thank you," He doesn't look at her, "Could you leave it over there?"

"Yep!"

She puts it on the desk chair, and pachirisu slides onto her arm.

She turns to leave, ponytail swishing behind her- she's definitely going on a date, she never curls her hair- but hesitates in the doorway, eyes lingering on Barry.

"Hey," She calls, "You okay? What's going on?"

Barry winces and curls into himself again, and Dawn's heart aches at the sight.

Dawn meets her sister's eyes, and explains, "Remember a few years ago when you had hanahaki?"

Mya's eyes go wide, and she lets out a small horrified breath.

"Oh no," She whispers, "Really?"

Dawn nods.

Mya lingers in the doorway, still shocked, and her pachirisu taps her arm. She looks at it, and it smiles at her.

"I'm sorry," She calls to Barry, "That really sucks."

Barry nods into the sleeping bag.

But she doesn't stop there, and Dawn watches her cross the room to her bed. She leans down to pull out a box, digs through and comes up with something familiar.

She marches over to Barry then, gently tapping on his head until he looks up with a very tear-stained face, and holds out the doll.

It's the Aipom plush their father bought at the hospital when Mya got her surgery. It's a little old and worn and dotted with blood, but still soft.

Barry's face is the very image of confused, but doesn't stop Mya from pushing it into his arms.

"Wh-what's-"

"Her name is Purple," Mya says with a very gentle smile, "She protected me while they took the flowers out."

Barry stares down at it, tears dripping-

"You can take her to your surgery too, if you want," Mya says, "She's really great at hugs."

Barry swallows, and in his own teary voice asks, "I-I might get blood on her- a-are you sure?"

"Mmhmm!" Mya hums brightly, "Just bring her back when it's all done, okay?"

*****

Barry is sleeping peacefully enough on the floor, zipped up in that blue sleeping bag and cuddling with the little aipom plush hours after Mya left for her date.

Dawn smiles to herself. Hopefully he'll sleep for a little while longer.

She slips out of bed, padding gently out of the room and down the hall, out of earshot of the boy on her floor.

She pulls up the phone app on her poketch and types in Lucas's number. Hopefully he's awake.

_"Hey, Dawn."_

Judging by his tired tone, he knows _exactly_ what she's about to ask.

"Hi Luc," She answers, "Mind telling me what went on this afternoon?"

He sighs, and she almost laughs when he says, _"Honestly? I have no idea."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the month long wait on this chapter, I had so many scenes to choose from, (a version of the poffin scene in this chapter was originally where this story was going to start), so it took a while to get out! But I'm pretty happy with where it stands atm, so I hope you all enjoyed! Thank you so much for reading! <3


	5. A Happy Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "But uh," he breathes a laugh, "Dawn told me I was being dumb and that you- you like me back."  
> "She's right," Lucas confirms softly, "Barry, I love you a lot."

Lucas should probably be in bed about now, but a very late night run to Amity Square seemed like a good idea to help clear his head. He let his Torterra, Toriel, lead the way through the park, and together they ended up under one of the lights. Toriel simply plopped down and got comfortable, and Lucas tucked himself into her side, hugging his knees and looking up at the stars.

That's when Dawn called, and Lucas honestly doesn't know how to go about the rest of this conversation.

 _"Well,"_ Dawn says from her end, and Lucas imagines her twirling her hair around her fingers, _"Barry told me you rejected him today."_

Lucas swallows, "I don't- I don't know if that's entirely accurate."

_"Yeah?"_

"He...startled me, is all," Lucas tucks himself further into Toriel's shell, "I mean, it isn't every day you find out that your best friend has a plant growing in their lungs because of you."

_"That's so strange to me."_

"What?"

 _"You two!"_ She huffs, _"Honestly,_ _Lucas, you and Barry are so gay for each other it was obvious the moment we met. The gay energy surrounding you two is enough to power literally all of Sunyshore."_

Lucas blinks.

"What?"

 _"He's had a crush on you for_ years, _Luc. I noticed it back when I first met both of you."_

"When we first met?"

 _"He came barreling out of the Research Lab and crashed right into you, remember?"_ Dawn explains, _"You didn't really see because you fell over, but his eyes lit up and he looked so excited when he realized it was you."_

Lucas feels a flush on his cheeks.

 _"He helped you up, messed with your hair, called the professor crazy, and then ran off,"_ Dawn giggles, _"He would have stolen your hat as well, if you hadn't grabbed him and taken it back."_

Lucas remembers that day. It was the day he got Toriel and his pokedex, way back when their journey started. He remembers the way he scraped his elbows when he fell, how Barry didn't even look fazed when they slammed into each other. How warm Barry's hands were when he helped him up. He remembers catching Barry's shirt before he could get to far and taking his hat back.

 _"And there was that other time at the Canalave library, when the professor wanted to talk to you,"_ she continues, _"We watched Barry at the top of the stairs, and he just_ _could_ not _stand still. I think he was actually vibrating, and kept checking his watch every ten seconds. When you finally got to the top of the stairs he took your hand so fast I swear he's a bolt of lightning in human form, and he dragged you over to the chair and made you sit before running off again, it was hilarious-"_

Lucas remembers that day too. Barry did kind of drag him over to the chair, but holding Barry's hand had just felt so natural that he didn't bother to fight it. His blush creeps down his neck when he remembers something else- Barry pulled out a chair for him, let him sit, and pushed it back in before running off.

 _"He didn't get very far,"_ Dawn giggles, _"I think Barry is afraid of Professor Rowan."_

"Makes sense," Lucas agrees, "He still doesn't have a pokedex. I'm willing to bet you're right."

Dawn laughs at that, and Lucas smiles.

Then she gets serious again.

 _"He doesn't believe me when I tell him you love him,"_ Dawn tells him softly, _"I think you're going to have to tell him yourself."_

Lucas swallows.

"Okay."

*****

Dawn tosses research papers in messy piles all across the desk as Empoleon naps in the corner. Professor Rowan just gave her an entire filing cabinet to reorganize with an entire year's worth of research papers to add in, (because _apparently_ he wasn't adding them when they popped up), but she's too angry at her friends to worry about keeping things in order while she organizes.

A week.

Those two _bloody idiots_ haven't talked to each other in a _week._

Lucas has spent more time at the pokemon league over the last three days than he has at any other point in the last six years he's been champion, and Barry hasn't challenged him _once_ as far as she knows.

 _What are they doing?_ The only way this can get resolved is if they _talk to each other._

The terrible thing is that Barry is actually getting _better_ by not talking to Lucas, even if it's just by a little bit. He claims he can breathe more easily when Lucas isn't around, and the flowers don't scramble up his throat when he wants to talk to her.

She flinches at the gentle tapping on her office door and whips around to glare at whoever decided to bother her-

-and stops short when Barry pushes the door open, blood dripping down his chin and petals in his hair even as he runs his fingers through it.

He looks rather awkward and small, and when he clears his throat it sounds painful.

"Hey Dawn," he says, forcing a smile that hurts her a little inside.

"Hey."

There's a silence for a minute or two, as Barry gathers his thoughts from wherever they go when he's walking, and she waits for him. He'll talk when he's ready, she's not going to force anything out of him.

"So, uhm..." he rocks on his feet and avoids looking her in the eyes, "I'm er...getting the surgery. Soon. Next week, probably."

Her heart drops straight into her shoes and she has to force herself to not react.

She swallows.

"Yeah?"

Barry swallows, looks off into a corner, and rubs at his throat, "Yeah."

She doesn't say anything. She simply nods and turns back to her desk, sorting papers more gently than before as she processes.

"You're not upset?"

Dawn looks at him again.

 _"Barry,"_ she says, and he flinches. She continues, softer this time, "Barry, I want you to live because you and Lucas are my best friends and I don't know what I'd do without you."

He nods, "But?"

"But," She agrees, "I think you can live without having to forget him. Feelings go with the flowers, and I don't want you to forget what you have."

Another heartrendingly fond smile, (is he _trying_ to make her cry?), then, softly, "You and me both, Dawn."

"Then _talk to him,_ ya zubat," she huffs, "Nothing will get better if you don't _talk."_

He doesn't say anything for a long moment, hazel eyes pinned to the ground at her feet.

"He's going to pick something up at the Canalave library for me," Dawn tells him softly, "Around six o'clock."

Barry's gaze flicks up.

"Six?"

She nods.

"Six," he says to himself, pulling up his poketch and flipping through it for a minute.

"Six," he says one more time, then, "Yeah, I can do six."

*****

Blue and gold clash as they watch each other, frozen in place on opposite ends of the Canalave Library.

Barry waited at one table in the corner for two hours, trying to will the petals in his chest to calm down so he could think straight before Lucas came in- but even after waiting for so long, he has exactly zero straight thoughts when Lucas comes through the door.

Lucas looks just as startled as Barry feels, and in one stumbling motion, Barry stands.

He points at Lucas in the doorway, mouths, 'talk?' and after a moment, Lucas seems to gather himself and nods.

They make their way to each other, stepping around other patrons of the library.

They don't say anything for a long moment, simply standing in front of each other and waiting for the other to talk.

Lucas is the first to break eye contact, and Barry watches him swallow before he moves, heading towards the stairs.

Barry hurries to match his stride, walking side-by-side as they make their way to the second floor.

"Dawn wants me to get a book for her," Lucas explains softly, "And after that I want to see what books they have for sale downstairs."

He offers an awkward side glance, "Then we can talk?"

Barry grins at him, petals fluttering when Lucas's cheeks go pink.

"Sounds good."

Lucas nods, then turns and leads the way to where Dawn's book is.

He stops to study the bookcase, and Barry stops next to him.

Their fingers brush, for only a moment, and because of some instinct deep inside of him, Barry gently intertwines their fingers.

Lucas tenses in his hold.

Barry leans over to whisper, "I'll meet you outside."

And when he straightens, Lucas is looking at him.

"I might be a while," He answers, so soft and shy and cute, "Are you sure?"

Barry winks at him, petals stirring when Lucas's face turns red, and he gives his hand a squeeze.

"I'll buy you a book."

Lucas brightens at that.

Barry smiles, bringing Lucas's hand to his lips then, to press a gentle kiss to his knuckles, then has to hurry to the bathroom downstairs before he pukes up blood and petals on the other boy's shoes.

*****

Lucas steps out of the library and is faced with the back of Barry's head.

He's there. Sitting in the bench under the streetlight, bag on the bench next to him, no doubt saving a spot for Lucas.

Oh boy.

Lucas swallows, suddenly nervous. His voice very nearly cracks when he calls out a gentle, "Barry?"

The blond perks up, looking over his shoulder with bright hazel eyes and smiling when said hazel eyes land on Lucas.

"I'm-uh," He swallows again, "Do you wanna come look at books now?"

Barry's smile grows, and within moments, he's got his bag and he heads towards Lucas.

"Before we go inside," Barry says softly, "There's something I want to say."

Lucas says nothing, simply prompting Barry to continue with the slight nod of his head.

"I love you," The blond confesses quietly, and Lucas's heart stammers in his chest. "I've loved you for a really, really long time. I don't remember when it started, but I know for a fact that my love isn't going to change."

Lucas looks up at him, catching hazel eyes with his own blue, and asks, "Then why did you run away?"

"I was...scared," Barry runs his fingers through his blond mess of hair, "I didn't know how you'd react, so _I_ reacted instead, and it wasn't a good reaction."

"But uh," he breathes a laugh, "Dawn told me I was being dumb and that you- you like me back."

Then Barry ducks his head into his sleeve and coughs up dozens of tiny blue flowers, each drifting to the ground between them. When he looks back at Lucas, his face is flushed and there's blood on his lips, but that doesn't stop Lucas's heart from doing flips in his chest.

"She's right," Lucas confirms softly, "Barry, I love you a lot."

Hazel eyes go wide, and for a moment, the world holds its breath.

Then Barry whispers, "I'm going to throw up."

And then they're holding hands and Lucas hurries Barry to the bathroom, holding his things and guarding the stall as the plant in Barry's lungs comes up a chunk at a time.

Petals first. Tons of them, tiny and blue and purple and white and red, like they've always been.

Then leaves, tiny like the petals.

Then stems like vines and deep roots, and Lucas simply stays with him, rubbing a gentle hand up and down his back in comfort.

Then it finally stops, and Barry breathes again, one deep breath after another.

"I am... _never..._ taking air for granted...ever again..." he mutters between breaths, and Lucas leans close so he can wrap his arms around him.

Barry's voice comes again, his hands latching onto Lucas's arms, "Why are you crying, love?"

Lucas nuzzles his face to the back of Barry's neck.

"I'm really glad you're still here."

Barry breathes a laugh, and leans back a little to nuzzle Lucas back.

"Yeah," He whispers, "Me too."

*****

"Ready for berries?"

Lucas stirs the batter around again.

"Give it a couple more minutes," he answers, and Dawn nods, setting the cutting board of berries back on the countertop.

"Is Barry still in the bathroom?" She asks.

"Nope."

Lucas flinches when there's a hand on his back, but relaxes when he realizes that it's Barry.

Barry presses a gentle kiss to his forehead, then wraps both arms around Lucas's waist.

"Just pretend I'm not here," Barry tells him gently, giving him full control over his arms and laying his head in Lucas's hair, "I'll just be patiently waiting for poffins, don't mind me."

This is what their relationship has turned into- Barry is about a million times clingier than before, if that was even possible, and somehow always finds a way to latch onto Lucas.

Lucas breathes a laugh and gently elbows his boyfriend, "Dawn, the batter's ready now."

She doesn't even blink at them as she pushes past them, dumping nearly every berry known to man into the batter.

"Think these'll turn out good?" She asks aloud, taking the spoon from Lucas and giving the pot a good stir.

"Definitely," Barry answers above them.

Lucas snorts, "Absolutely not."

Dawn smiles, "I'm sure they'll turn out just fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D  
> we started the week of Valentine's day and ended during Pride Month, I'd say that's pretty good.  
> Feel free to leave critiques in the comments! I'm down to edit anything that might be a little weird.  
> Thank you so much for reading! Stay safe, I love you all!

**Author's Note:**

> come hang out on [tumblr](https://a-pure-magic-sheep.tumblr.com/) if u want :)


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